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As the spring thaw in eastern North Dakota continues at a rapid rate, inspecting the dirty-water containment ponds and manure stacking areas daily is an important practice for livestock owners.

If drought conditions persist, feedlots may continue to borrow against the future with early weaned calves available through the spring and summer before facing the full reality of tighter feeder cattle supplies.

Kansas cattleman and feedyard operator Robert “Bob” E. Foote, Bucyrus, Kansas, passed away March 25 at his home surrounded by loved ones.

Modest packer participation in all regions led to another disappointing week for cattle feeders trying to push the market higher.

Lawmakers introduce a bill to send an energy rebate any month the national average gas price exceeds $4 per gallon for the remainder of 2022.

USDA now expects food price inflation in 2022 to be from 4.5% to 5.5%, compared with 2021, based on the all-food Consumer Price Index. No category shows a potential decline.

Fed cattle trades began the week at steady before finding higher bids late week. Cattle on feed numbers remain high as USDA reported a 9% increase in February placements over last year.

Under Secy. Moffitt says her objective is to ensure producers have access to USDA dollars: “We see there’s a need for qualified technical expertise to capture the projects for producers and MPPTA will address that.”

The North American Meat Institute issued a statement regarding House Agriculture Committee Chairman David Scott’s announcement of an upcoming hearing on the beef industry and food prices.

While inflation has become a focus of many recent news reports, there is much confusion about how inflation affects farm and ranch income.